USA Wrestling to honor Penn State with the 2020 USA Wrestling Collegiate Impact Award

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Wrestling announced today it will honor Pennsylvania State University as the winner of its 2020 USA Wrestling Collegiate Impact Award, which honors the top-contributing school to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in Tokyo. As part of the recognition, Patrick Kraft, vice president for intercollegiate athletics at Penn State, will be honored during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards that will run in conjunction with the National Football Foundation’s 64th Annual Awards celebration on Dec. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas.


“The NCAA collegiate sports system has long provided our nation’s best and brightest with incredible opportunities to showcase their gifts not only on the field of play, but also in the classroom. This system has long been the backbone for competitive success for Team USA, a system that truly does provide athletes with the opportunity to reach their full athletic and human potential,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.


At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, 12 of 15 U.S. wrestlers competed collegiately, including Penn State’s David Taylor. Taylor tallied the highest margin of victory across his Team USA teammates during his collective performances in Tokyo, earning Penn State the 2020 USA Wrestling Collegiate Impact Award. Taylor’s 2020 Olympic run concluded with a gold medal in 86 kg in men’s freestyle.


Taylor became the first Penn State wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal. He continues to be a leader on the U.S. National Team, claiming World gold medals in 2018 and 2022, and a World silver medal in 2021.


“Penn State University has been a real leader within the sport of wrestling of providing wrestlers with incredible opportunities to pursue a world class education but also with the opportunities for current and post-graduate to realize their Olympic dreams. USA Wrestling owes a debt of gratitude for their unwavering commitment to Team USA,” said Bender.


USA Wrestling joins seven other National Governing Bodies that will participate in this year’s Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards – a celebration that will honor sport-specific contributors (NGB Collegiate Impact Awards) and overall Team USA contributors (Team USA Collegiate Impact Awards) to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.


More information about the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards – and about Team USA’s collegiate footprint in Tokyo – can be found online at TeamUSA.org/CollegiateImpact.


Check out USA Wrestling's coverage of the 2020 Olympic Games in its Tokyo Special Section.